Cryptography
Cryptography is the practice of securing information by
transforming it into a format that is unreadable to unauthorized
individuals. This transformation process uses algorithms and keys to
encrypt (scramble) the information and then decrypt (unscramble) it back
to its original form when needed.
Consider two parties Alice and Bob. Now, Alice wants to send a
message m to Bob over a secure channel. So, what happens is as follows.
The sender’s message or sometimes called the Plaintext, is converted into
an unreadable form using a Key k. The resultant text obtained is called
the Ciphertext. This process is known as Encryption. At the time of
received, the Ciphertext is converted back into the plaintext using the
same Key k, so that it can be read by the receiver. This process is known
as Decryption.
Alice (Sender) Bob (Receiver)
C = E (m, k) ----> m = D (C, k)
Here, C refers to the Ciphertext while E and D are the Encryption and
Decryption algorithms respectively. Let’s consider the case of Caesar
Cipher or Shift Cipher as an example. As the name suggests, in Caesar’s
Cipher each character in a word is replaced by another character under
some defined rules. Thus, if A is replaced by D, B by E and so on. Then,
each character in the word would be shifted by a position of 3. For
example:
Plaintext : Geeksforgeeks
Ciphertext : Jhhnvirujhhnv
Crypto-terminologies
Encryption: The process of converting plaintext (readable data)
into ciphertext (unreadable code) using an algorithm and a key.
Decryption: The process of converting ciphertext back into
plaintext using a key. This is the reverse of encryption.
Cipher: An algorithm used for encryption and decryption. There are
various types of ciphers, such as symmetric ciphers and asymmetric
ciphers.
Plaintext: The original, readable data or message before
encryption.
Ciphertext: The encrypted, unreadable form of the plaintext.
Key: A piece of information used in conjunction with an algorithm to
perform encryption and decryption. It determines the
transformation of plaintext to ciphertext and vice versa.
Symmetric Encryption: A type of encryption where the same key
is used for both encryption and decryption. Example: AES (Advanced
Encryption Standard).
Asymmetric Encryption: A type of encryption that uses a pair of
keys—a public key for encryption and a private key for decryption.
Example: RSA (Rivest–Shamir–Adleman).
Cryptanalysis:
Cryptanalysis is the practice of studying and breaking cryptographic
systems to uncover vulnerabilities and decrypt ciphertext without the key.
It involves various techniques to bypass or defeat encryption.
Cryptanalyst:
Cryptanalyst is a professional who performs cryptanalysis, specializing in
uncovering weaknesses in cryptographic systems and algorithms to gain
unauthorized access to encrypted information.
